Even though the severe recession continues to cast a pall across northern Nevada, entrepreneurial souls see better times ahead.
An annual Entrepreneur Expo in Reno on Friday is expected to draw attendance of at least 1,000 a record for the five-year-old event sponsored by Nevada's Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology.
"These Expos are different from other expos because they are designed to provide Nevada's small business owners access to the resources and expertise they need to grow and to succeed," says Dave Archer, chief executive of the center.
A new program to teach entrepreneurial skills to graduates and undergraduates at the University of Nevada, Reno, meanwhile, has drawn about 50 students this autumn to learn about creation and financing of new businesses.
And events throughout the region including the UNR campus in coming days are designed to strengthen the skills of folks who are starting small businesses, or giving the move some serious thought.
The Entrepreneur Expo, a free event, runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. About 100 organizations that provide services to business startups will exhibit, and the event includes seminars on subjects ranging from development of sales skills to protection of intellectual property.
The Expo is part of a series of events that run through much of September. Other events from entrepreneurs and experienced business people range from orientation sessions for entrepreneurs sponsored by SCORE and the Nevada Small Business Development Center to training sessions in the use of QuickBooks. (For a full schedule, see ncetexpo.org/reno.)
This marks the first time that the Entrepreneur Expo is scheduled during the autumn. Previous events were conducted in the spring.
At UNR, meanwhile, a new minor in entrepreneurship and a new master's of business with an emphasis on entrepreneurship are drawing healthy interest.
The mere fact that the programs were launched at a time when the budget-constrained university has trimmed other programs is an indication of the importance that leaders place on development of new business in the state, says Mark Pingle, a professor of economics at UNR.
Thirty students, a mix of undergrads and graduate students, signed up this semester for a class in creation of new ventures. Another 20 signed up for a class in entrepreneurial finance. And the course offerings, Pingle says, aren't targeted only to business students.
"Everyone they can be an art major can do an entrepreneurial minor," he says.
Those art majors, along with business majors and others who think they might someday hold a job in the private sector, can dip into a busy schedule of events during UNR's Business Week.
It runs through Friday with events such as a presentation by Scott Armstrong, the chief executive of Reno's Dibbs Inc., insights about doing business in Mexico during a meeting of the International Business Student Chapter and a class on credit sponsored by Wells Fargo. (For the full schedule, see www.business.unr.edu/week.)
